Boarding School
by Banana-split 77
Summary: Ed hasn't seen his father, or Al for seven years. Suddenly, Hoenheim shows up and forces him to attend school, where he reunites with Al. Except, Al doesn't remember him, or his childhood because of a tragic accident. An accident that was Ed's fault. What will Ed do now? Does he want Al to remember him and their past? Or would his little brother prefer to remain oblivious?
1. Chapter 1

**I had a dream about this fic, but I dreamt the end and a little of the middle, so I have no idea how the beginning is going to end up…But here goes nothing…**

**P.S. this is also my first series fic that I actually plan on finishing, so any encouragement or criticism is welcome **

**On with the story! **

"You want me to do what?"

Hoenheim crossed his arms and stared at his eldest son, who was sitting opposite of him, a desk separating them. "I wish for you to attend school, Edward."

The duo was sitting in one of Hoenheim's rented offices. Ed leaned back in his cushioned chair and shook his head. "Absolutely not. There is no fucking way."

"Why not? You're only sixteen years old, Edward, you should be attending school anyways."

Ed chuckled a little and rested his forehead in his hand. "Yes, but I don't see why I have to move across the country just to go to some prestigious little school you picked out."

"It's the best school there is." Hoenheim started, "I could easily cover the expenses and the entrance exams would be simple enough for someone with your level of intellect."

This brought forth another bout of small laughter from Edward. He had yet to remove his hand from his head, and shielded Hoenheim's view of the boy's eyes. He was about to ask what amused him so much, when the laughter suddenly died away, and Ed stood up, slamming his hands on the desk.

"You just can't do that!" He yelled at his father. "It's not so simple that you can just show up out of the blue after disappearing for seven years, demanding that I move across the country for you! Don't you realize how crazy you sound? You can't make someone do something against their will!"

As if expecting this, Hoenheim exhaled softly and folded his hands together calmly. "But you see, Edward," A man walked into the room and placed a few documents on the desk and excused himself. "I'm still your legal guardian, and until you are eighteen, you're under my jurisdiction."

Hoenheim slid the papers towards Ed and waited for him to read them. Ed picked them up, one by one, and listed them off inside his head. _Birth certificate, a bunch of paper work…a plane ticket…_

"As you can see, you will be leaving tonight so you can catch the entrance exams. It's a boarding school, so you will need to bring everything-"

Ed didn't hear the rest, his mind going blank as he stared out the window. He was going to school. He hadn't been to school in three years. He was moving thousands of miles away from his home, and thousands of miles closer to the one man in the world he couldn't stand. And there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

"This will be your room." Hoenheim opened a door in the corner of the hallway. He pretended he couldn't feel the tension in the air, continuing on as if everything was ok. "Since it's the corner room, it's a bit bigger than the rest."

Edward simply glared at the back of his father's head, refusing to speak to him. Hoenheim set down Ed's bags and opened another door, showing the bathroom to his son, who ignored him. They kept this little game up until Hoenheim excused himself and left to do some paperwork.

Sighing, Ed walked around the campus, looking at all the hopeful students studying for the exams, some already in uniform. The guys wore brown dress pants, white button up long sleeves, and a yellow vest with the school crest on it. The girls had brown pleated skirts, and long sleeve, yellow sweaters. Ed regarded those types of students with disgust, who would want to attend this pristine little school, much less already wear the stiff uniforms. Edward himself had on a baggy red sweatshirt and the nearest pair of jeans he could reach that morning. He looked up at the four story buildings, the main building, the dorms, the sports complex, this place was definitely one for the rich.

For a long time, Ed wandered around aimlessly. Eventually he wound up back at the dorms, he decided to go back up to his room, which was on the fourth floor at the end of the hallway (lucky him!). Right before entering his room, he caught sight of a slight opening. Behind a potted plant, there was a small crawl space in the window where one of the giant glass panes had been moved a little, creating just enough room for someone to squeeze through.

After maneuvering his way through, Ed ended up outside, teetering dangerously close to the edge on the window sill. Curious, he followed the sill to the right, leaning against the wall so he didn't fall off the ledge and die. After about fifty feet, the ledge bent around a corner. Ed was planning on turning back once he got there, but then he noticed a missing brick that he could put his hand in and he carefully stepped around the corner. The sill opened up to a space big enough to safely stand on, from there, the roof slanted up and the noise of something rustling came from the very top of the roof. Slowly, Ed crawled up the shingles 'til he reached the top, where he found a boy sitting crisscross with a big textbook and notebook open on his lap.

The boy looked around Ed's age or a little older. He was scribbling notes down quickly, peering with obsidian colored eyes at his paper through his dark bangs. It took a while before he noticed Ed's presence and looked up slightly alarmed.

Ed figured he was shy, until a smirk spread across the strangers face. "Guess the freshmen are finding all of my hiding spots."

Ed's eye twitched. "Freshman?" He asked, clenching his fists. "I'm a second year. Sixteen years old."

"Really?" The stranger looked genuinely shocked.

"Why the hell is that so surprising?" Ed yelled, causing the other teen to cover his ears and cringe slightly.

Ed watched as the guy stood up and measured his height to Ed's, laughing when he found several inches between them. "Are you sure you're not a freshman? I'm 5' 9", and that's normal."

"It's none of your freakin' business!"

Walking in a full circle around Ed, the stranger tried guessing how tall he was. "5' 2"? Nah, you're a little taller than that. 5' 6"? Nope, _way_ too tall. I know! You're 5' 4", aren't you?"

Ed pushed the guy away and stomped towards the emergency exit door that lead from the fourth floor up to the roof. Briefly wondering why he hadn't taken the stairs, and risked his life just to meet this asshole, Ed gripped the handle. "I'm 5' 5" you dumbass-"

"Don't!" The guy suddenly yelled right before Ed yanked the door open, surprising him. Ed jumped a little and the door swung open. In the next second, an ear shattering cry resounded throughout the court yard, scaring the students and teachers alike.

"You idiot!" The teen yelled at Edward, getting up and shoving the young man down the staircase, following with all of his books. "Don't you know that if you open the emergency exits, the fire alarm will go off?"

"No!"

As protocol states, all of the students stood on the school's lawn, whispering and glaring at the blaring alarm. When Ed and the stranger reached the lawn, the siren was cut off, and the students sighed in relief, happy to have peace and quiet again.

From inside the building, Hoenheim and a set of teachers started towards the mass of children. As Edward saw this, he began pushing his way through the students to escape in the back of the crowd. There was no way that he was going to get caught by his father. The other kids, silenced by seeing the teachers, obediently stayed put, as they were supposed to in case of an emergency.

Hoenheim stopped walking, skimming the crowd. "Who is responsible?"

Everyone was silent and Ed was forced to stop moving or else he'd be caught. A low murmur started amongst the students, and Ed used this to his advantage, pushing his way through the bodies. Suddenly, an arm looped around his throat, and he was tugged off the side.

Annoyed, Ed glared up into the obsidian eyes of the kid from before. "What the hell do you want?" He spat.

"This is my chance," The teen whispered to Ed, grinning. "If I turn you in for setting off the alarm, I can get on the good side of the headmaster."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare…"

"Oh, but I would." He began dragging Ed to the front, closer to all of the teachers.

Ed struggled against the grasp of the taller boy, spouting things like, "You don't have any proof!" and "You're an accomplice to the crime!"

The duo received plenty of stares as Ed's screaming and struggling reached a maximum, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. As they emerged from the crowd, Ed was met with the leveled gaze of Hoenheim and the irritated glares from the rest of the teachers. The dark haired teen properly stood Ed, and nodded his head respectively to the instructors. "This is the culprit. I saw him open the emergency exit doors to try and get on the roof."

Hoenheim crossed his arms and stared sternly at his son. "Why am I not surprised, Edward?"

Ed finally shoved the guy off of him and started to make an excuse, but Hoenheim cut him off, telling him to meet in his office. Thanking the student who brought his son forth, Hoenheim lead Ed across the court yard and into the building. Smirking, Roy Mustang gathered his books and headed off to his dorm room to study in silence, like the rest of the students.

**This is probably going to be the shortest chapter in this series. I promise that I'll make them longer!**

**Before anyone say anything, I know that Ed's height is a little off. But I just couldn't make him that short! Especially because I have a romantic future planned for him, he must be taller than the female! Even if it's only by half an inch…**

**Anyways, please tell me what you thought of this and if I should write another chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I decided to post another chapter! Fun, right? But nobody really cares because only about 1.7% of the fanfic population actually reads these author notes, so I'm not gonna waste any more time! To the story!**

"You have not even been here for a day, Edward, and you are already causing trouble." Hohenheim lectured the young man who was only half listening.

"Well, what did you expect? Me to just accept this situation you forced me into like a good little boy?" Ed responded, tapping a finger on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in.

"No," Hohenheim said, "But what good does setting off the fire alarm do?"

"Like I told you!" Ed yelled at him, leaning forward in his chair. "How the hell am I supposed to know the thing was gonna go off when I opened the door?"

"It's common sense." Hohenheim reasoned.

"Yeah? Then explain to me why I had no idea that would happen."

Hohenheim cleared his throat. "Well, Edward, you've never been the most sensible child. Besides, that's the standard for almost every building or house's security alarms. There is a reason it's called an emergency exit. Did you not have a security system in your house?"

Ed was silent for a while, contemplating whether he should answer his father or not. Hohenheim sat back and watched his eldest carefully. He had asked because he truly hadn't known, he didn't know anything about his son. Not where he lived, who he lived with, how he had been doing these pass seven years. He took Edward's silence as a no, and figured that his home live had not been so pleasant.

"How have you been, Edward?"

Hohenheim's question snapped Ed out of his little trance. "What?" He asked sharply, practically spitting the words. "How do you think it's been?"

"I don't know because you won't tell me."

Ed stood up and walked to the door, excusing himself. "You don't deserve to know, bastard."

And then he was gone, leaving Hohenheim to linger on the words that were thrown at him. He'd be lying if he said they didn't hurt, but it wasn't like he had been expecting Ed to be happy at seeing him again. Seven years was a long time to wait to talk to someone, especially if they were your family member.

* * *

The slam of Ed's room door echoed throughout the entire fourth floor.

_How dare he! _Edward though as he angrily stomped over to his still packed suitcase. He began throwing clothes everywhere. _Thinking he can just come and claim that he's still my father, making me go to this stupid school, acting as though everything is ok, when clearly it's not! Who the hell does he think he is?_

There was a knock on his door, and Ed stumbled across his now messy room to open it and yell at whatever idiot was on the other side. When he managed to swing open the door, Ed slammed it closed as soon as he saw the grinning face of the boy earlier.

There was another barrage of knocks. "C'mon man, I want to know how the talk with the headmaster went."

Catching the word 'headmaster', Ed flung open the door once more, this time greeted with two smiling faces. Except the second one looked friendlier than the first, which was way more arrogant. "What do you mean headmaster?"

Roy pushed his past the smaller boy, inviting himself and his friend in. "The headmaster, you know, the guy that dragged you away and talked with you in his office."

_Fuck!_

"That was the headmaster?" Ed asked, to clarify this fact.

Roy turned towards him, and very slowly, said, "Yes…the headmaster. Van Hohenheim, world famous scientist."

_World famous?_

"He started this school less than ten years ago, and now it's the top school in the country. Impressive, isn't it?" For the first time, Ed noticed the friend that the dark haired guy brought with him. His dark hair was brushed back, two strings of hair falling just above his bespectacled eyes. He extended his hand warmly to Ed. "Hi, my name is Maes Hughes! And that other guy over there is my best friend, Roy Mustang!"

Ed shook it suspiciously. If the other guy was bad, then what was this one like? "Edward Elric."

Maes looked confused for a moment before asking, "Elric?"

"Yeah, something wrong with that?" Ed asked, going into his defensive mode.

Maes shook his head. "No, it's just that Roy here tells me that you're his son."

"Whose son?"

Roy came over to Ed and smirked victoriously. "I know your little secret, Edward _Elric._"

Not liking the way he accented Elric, Ed backed away from his a step. "What do you mean?"

"You're Van Hohenheim's son, aren't you?"

The blood in Ed's system boiled. There was absolutely no way in hell that he would recognize that clueless, selfish bastard as his father. _"No."_ He gritted out through clenched teeth.

"No?" Roy crossed his arms and snorted. "You guys look identical, I was totally shocked when I saw you two stand next to each other. I mean, you guys both have that abnormal golden hair color-"

_Shut up. It's not like I asked to look like this._

"-not to mention that freaky eye color-"

_Shut up!_

"-which is golden, again. I've never seen anyone else with that eye color-"

_SHUT UP!_

"-and your posture is kind of the same, like you've spent hours bent over research. Which, in your dad's case, that's probably what happened. Man, I wish my dad was as cool as yours, how lucky are you-"

"Just shut the fuck up!" Edward yelled, silencing Roy's rambles. Ed clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles turned white and his finger nails dug into his palms. "You don't know anything! That lying, selfish, heartless bastard is _not_ my father! He never was and he'll never be!"

Maes and Roy were taken back by Ed's sudden outburst of anger. "Edward…" Maes reached out to him, but was only smacked away.

"Get out." Ed growled. "Now."

Both boys were silent as they shuffled towards the door. On the way out, Maes quietly shut the door behind him. They waited until they were in the hallway to make a comment, Roy cussing on how he had just wanted to tell Ed that they would be neighbors. After grabbing some cash from their room, located right next to Ed's, the two teens headed for the cafeteria for dinner.

Ed sat himself on his bed, ruffling his hair with his fingers. All day he had worn it in a braid, and now, he pulled off the hair bind and shook out his locks.

_I'll never forgive him! That bastard…He's been out making a name for himself, becoming a world famous scientist, instead of being with his family. What kind of father and husband would do that?_

Ed sprung up from his bed and walked out of the room. It was too white, too depressing. Besides, he needed food, there was no way he could function unless he had his fill. He made it to the lobby, when he was stopped, a golden card shimmering in his view.

"It's your lunch card." Hohenheim explained, dropping it into Ed's hand.

Ed glared. "Listen here you bastard if you think I-"

"I'm very sorry, Edward, but you'll have to excuse me. The entrance exams are tomorrow, so I'm busy getting everything prepared. Good luck on your tests."

Hohenheim walked briskly away, a few of his attendant following after him. Ed stared at the card a moment, before deciding that a pretest buffet sounded really nice, and headed off to the cafeteria.

* * *

"This guy is absolutely nuts!" Roy told his group of friends, referring to Edward Elric. "It's so obvious he's the headmaster's son, yet he denies it and insults him. I wish I were that lucky! Just imagine how cool it would be to have Van Hohenheim as you dad. Pretty fucking awesome!"

"I wasn't aware that Van Hohenheim even had children." Riza said, taking a sip of her smoothie. "My grandfather and the headmaster have been friends for a long time now, but he didn't know about this. Are you sure they're related?"

Maes nodded his head. "Yep. If you see him for yourself, it's pretty obvious. It's like he's a copy of the headmaster."

"Now I kind of want to meet him. "Winry stated, giggling to herself. "I bet he's super smart. Smarter than Roy."

"Yes, but that's not hard. "Riza said, her friends nodding in agreement.

"Hey!" Roy shouted, throwing some of his food at them.

At the same moment, Ed walked in and ordered beef stew. Maes saw this and pointed, whispering to his friends, "There's Edward Elric. Over there wearing the red shirt."

Riza and Winry crowded around Maes to see where he was pointing. Riza gave a frustrated sigh when Ed turned away from her and she couldn't see his face. All she could see was this mass of golden hair carelessly tossed into a pony tail. Finally, when his order arrived, he turned to leave and Riza and Winry got to see his face. She didn't know what she was expecting, but Riza felt a little let down when she saw his short stature, old red shirt, and baggy pants. You would think that the son of a celebrity, and not to mention Headmaster of the school he was attending, would dress a little better. Maybe hold himself with a little more pride.

"We should go and talk to him." Winry suggested, standing up.

Roy immediately pulled her down. "No way! Were you not listening to our story? I seriously doubt he wants to see us right now."

"Well, whether you like it or not, you're going to be seeing him a lot." Riza told them.

"What do you mean?" Roy didn't like the sound of that.

"You guys are neighbors." Riza said. "So obviously you'll see each other every day."

"And you could end up having classes together." Winry added.

Roy snorted. "Yeah right, that kid doesn't look half as smart as me. He'll be lucky to even pass the exams tomorrow."

Sighing, Riza got up to dump the remains of her food in the trash. "Boasting again, Mr. All Honors?"

"Just you wait, Roy, I bet Edward is going to beat your scores on the test." Maes laughed, following Riza.

The other two went with Riza and Maes, and then made their way back to their dorms rooms. Maes and Roy shared a room, next to Ed's, and Winry and Riza shared one on the second floor in the girls' dorm. They set about studying and quizzing each other. Throughout the entire school, nervousness was radiating off of everyone.

Amestris High was a different school. For one, they treated the high school students and classes like a college course. Secondly, they allow you to live in the dorms, have you wear the uniform, and let you walk around campus two weeks before the entrance exams so you can be prepared for living in a dorm. The average amount of time it takes to finish the exams is roughly seven hours, or a full school day. If you fail to pass, then you have three days until actual school starts to move out. While you have to take your basic classes for your grade, you also have the option of selecting what other classes you want. Say, if you wanted to be a mathematician, you can personalize your schedule to take more math classes instead of things like pottery.

Winry lay awake, finding it extremely hard to convince herself to sleep. It had been the same last year, she had stayed up all night and was exhausted by morning. She tried to tell herself that she had already passed the exams once, she could do it again. Even though, she was still really nervous. What would happen if she failed?

Just then, her phone buzzed from under her pillow. She checked her screen without looking who sent it, she already knew who it was.

_Be there tomorrow. We had trouble on the flight over, but now I've landed and will take a taxi over tomorrow._

_Goodnight!_

Winry thought for a moment before replying.

**You'd better be there on time, idiot.**

**Night.**

Winry stuffed her phone back under her pillow and finally started drifting off to sleep. She had been worried all day, but now that she knew he would be there tomorrow, she felt a little better. Maybe now she could actually get some sleep.

**Ok…so how'd I do for the second chapter? Think I should still continue? I kinda doubt I need to say this, but reviews make authors happy! So if you would review my story, it would be _great_! :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry about not updating last weekend. It was super hectic! I was all over the place, doing random shit for school and getting shot with an air soft gun by almost all of my neighbors. That only succeeded in stalling me on my English and Science projects do the next day. Not only that, but I was recovering from a bunch of shots to the face and on my arms because I was in short sleeves when they ambushed me. I was uncomfortable all weekend. Fucking rays of sunshine, right?**

**Enough of my useless quibbling…**

Ed sat in his designated desk, staring at the test before him. When he had woken up in the morning, he was half an hour late to the pre exam speech. From there, each student was assigned a classroom and desk where they would spend as much time as the needed to finish the test. And now the teen, an hour into the testing time, he still had a blank sheet of paper.

Sighing, Ed looked out the window, contemplating whether he really wanted to take the exam. If he didn't, he wouldn't have a choice but to go back to his old town. But that wasn't a thing he was too excited about.

For the past seven years, he had been living in a halfway house for delinquents. While it hadn't been the most horrible of conditions, they weren't technically legal, either. The man who was supposed to be taking care of the kids, Greed as people called him, was a drug lord and never home. He was always out with some gang or prostitutes. So it fell to each individual kid to fend for themselves, get their own food, clothes, and any other necessity. If you wanted it, you had to get it yourself. Lots of times, Ed had wandered the streets at night, looking for food or something warm to wear.

That's why he could never forgive Hohenheim. If that bastard had never abandoned his family seven years ago, he never would have been in this situation. Not to mention that his mother probably would have lived longer. And then Al…

_Oh God, Al…_

Ed grabbed fistfuls of his hair, telling himself to forget about his little brother. He was never going to see him again.

Someone beside him coughed, and turned his attention to a girl with long blonde hair next to him. She looked to the front of the room a couple of times, indicating for him to follow suit. He redirected his gaze up to Hohenheim, who stood at the front of the classroom, with his arms crossed and slight frown on his face. Ed glared at the man, cursing him in his mind. He didn't want anything to with that bastard.

* * *

As soon as Winry sat down, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the study guide she completed yesterday, reviewing the answers. When the one hundred question test was set before her, she got to work immediately.

An hour later, Winry was only on the fifteenth question. She quickly glanced to the boy sitting next to her. He was the one that was the headmaster's son. Without a second glance, she could tell he hadn't filled out any of the questions yet. He hadn't even picked up his pencil yet. All he did was stare out the window and sigh. Winry turned back to her own test, not wanting to be caught looking around the room. That would defiantly get her kicked out of the school.

Out of habit, Winry checked the clock for the time. That's when she noticed the headmaster staring in her direction. He wasn't looking at her, but at his son, who still sat the doing nothing, completely oblivious. Winry gave a little cough to get his attention, and as soon as he turned her direction, she nearly gasped out loud. He looked exactly like Van Hohenheim. Keeping her head towards the boy, she glanced a few times in the headmaster's direction, silently telling him to look that way. Once he did, his face instantly twisted into a scowl, and he glared at his father. Shocked, Winry kept her eyes on him until he focused his glare on her. Embarrassed, she ducked her head and started working on her test again.

* * *

_Dammit!_

Roy let out a frustrated sigh. Last year, the test questions had been much easier. This year though, they actually provided a challenge, and Riza and Maes sat on the other side of the room. That put a big dampener on his fun, and Winry was all alone in another classroom. He briefly wondered how the others were doing, but he decided his own problems were more important.

He was on the fifty-eighth question, and it had already been two and a half hours since he started. Last year, he finished within three hours, now there was no way he could do that again. It was depressing really, because once you finish your test, you get to leave and do whatever you want.

"Five minute break." One of the teachers overlooking the exam said.

"Yes!" Roy yelled, dashing out of the room before the teachers could reprimand him.

During the course of the exam, you got five minute breaks here and there. Roy waited in the hallway for his more civilized friends. When they emerged, they walked to the water fountain together, and stretched their legs. One of the classrooms from down the hall was just getting out, and Roy waited to see if Winry was in it. At the end of the crowd, he spotted Winry, who was struggling to keep up with Ed, who was saying something to her.

Roy grabbed Maes and Riza's arms and spun them to face Ed and Winry. "Look!"

* * *

"Break time! You've got five minutes." A teacher told them.

As the other students filtered out of the classroom, Ed stood up slowly, popping his back as he pushed on it. He hadn't planned on leaving the classroom, but the presence of another person watching him motivated him to leave.

"Why aren't you writing down answers on another person watching him motivated him to leave.

"Why aren't you writing down answers on your test?" The girl from before asked him.

"Why aren't you minding your own business?" He replied.

Winry followed him out of the room, trying to keep pace, but it was hard when he walked so fast. "You're gonna run out of time if you don't start the test soon."

"Maybe I don't know the answers." Ed told her, and then walked into the boy's bathroom, where she couldn't follow.

Winry considered waiting for him, but someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Winry."

She turned around surprised. "Where have you been?"

* * *

_Don't know the answers my ass!_

Winry gripped her pencil harder at the sound of Ed flipping the page on his test once again. God! That had to be like the third time in what? An hour? Nobody can whip through three pages just like that! It wasn't possible!

Why was he even trying now? Before, he hadn't done a thing, what was different now? He even glared at his father! Winry checked the clock again, four hours. Only three more until the deadline. For some reason, she couldn't concentrate this year. Last year, it was so much easier, and she had all her friends sitting around her. They had silently encouraged her, but now, they were in a different room! What was she supposed to do now?

Ed stood up, and Winry followed him with her gaze. He said something to the teacher and then left with his test in hand. She drifted off into her own world, thinking about how weird he was. She wondered how someone could have gold hair like that, long and thick.

_And his eyes are like pools of honey…_

Winry blushed and shook her head viciously. She was _not_ going to drift off thinking about hair and eyes!

_Focus woman, focus!_

* * *

Ed walked out into the hallway and into the direction of the front office. He had just finished his test and was on his way to turn it in. He wasn't even sure why he decided to take it. Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't because of his father. Ed stopped in the middle of the corridor and glared at an announcement board.

_This is so stupid. Why did I finish the test if I don't even want to be here?_

Someone walked past him and broke Ed from his reverie. For a moment, an odd tingling sensation filled him, and he turned around. But the person was already entering another room, and was soon out of sight. Ed dismissed the feeling and continued on his way. As he turned the final corner to the main office, he suddenly ran into the shoulder of another being. Looking up, Ed frowned upon seeing Roy again.

"Whoa, it's the bean sprout!" Roy said, steadying himself.

"Bean sprout?!" Ed shouting. "Who're you callin' so short that you have to use a magnifying glass to see over the threads of the carpet?!"

A secretary stomped out of the office, she did _not_ look amused. "I'm sure everyone in the building would appreciate it if you kept your voices down," She hissed. "There are still a number of students testing. So if you have no business here, please relocate yourselves."

Ed pushed his test out towards the lady. "I'm done, so I came to hand it in."

"Same here." Roy said, holding his test out as well.

The secretary gave a short glare, taking the tests, and entering the office again. The moment she could no longer hear them, Roy started laughing. After a little hesitation, Ed joined in. When their laughter reached an intolerable level, a teacher came out and escorted them from the building.

* * *

The boy watched from down the hall as his friend and another guy laughed, getting increasingly louder. He stood there watching as they got dragged out of the building, wondering if he should help them. Clutching his test, he hurried off to the office, careful not to cause any noise.

"Al!"

Al turned around at the surprised voice of Riza. "Hi, Riza."

"Where were you? Everyone was so worried that you wouldn't make it because Winry had said your flight got delayed or something. And then you weren't at the speech, so we thought you didn't make it."

"Yeah," Al rubbed the back of his head. "I missed the opening speech, and barely made it to the class I was assigned."

Riza matched the younger boy's pace and walked with him towards the main office. "At least you made it, though. Everyone was worried when we didn't see you this morning."

Al laughed and looked away from his blonde friend. They continued on their way, and after they had handed in their tests, they decided to get something to eat. While munching on chips, Al realized that he had no idea what room he was in. Last year, he had a room all to himself. He doubted that would be the case again this year. He wondered what kind of person his roommate would be.

As if reading his mind, Riza asked, "Since you got here late, did you get to drop your stuff off at your room?"

"Well," Riza said, checking her wristwatch, "I'll probably have a little time before Maes and Winry are done. So, want me to help you?"

Al smiled gratefully. "Yes!"

* * *

"Wow," Al commented. "My room's all the way on the fourth floor."

Riza huffed in reply and set the majority of Al's things on the ground. She had carried almost everything by herself, and Al was forced to remember to never get in a fight with this girl, he'd lose. "411, right?" She asked once she caught her breath.

Al nodded, hesitant to open the door. If he did, what kind of roommate would be waiting for him on the other side? Slowly, Alphonse reached for the handle. Millimeters away from the knob, the door suddenly swung open and Al barely had the time to step back before something small and golden crashed into him.

"The hell?!" Edward yelled, looking up at the obstruction in his way.

The string of curses Ed was prepared to set free from his mind abruptly died away. Standing before him was a girl with blonde hair and a boy with golden eyes, only a few shades darker. He knew this face, no, he remembered this face. While his features were more mature, and far more prominent, it was definitely the same sandy blonde hair, soft, understanding eyes, and the same nervous smile he used to wear whenever he met someone new. Right before Ed's eyes sat his baby brother.

Ed drew in a quiet breath and whispered, "Alphonse…"

**AHHHHHH! I wanted to write their reunion differently…but my brain is currently dead. 11 hours of sleep, 3 bowls of ramen, and a shit ton of anime can do that to a person.**

**Anyways, you guys know the drill…review and I might feel like updating faster. I could use some serious motivation.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ahh…you all should know I'm really horrible about sitting down and writing something in one go. I started typing this last week, and now I'm finishing it, so I'm terribly sorry if it seems disconnected.**

**I just realized that I should probably do a disclaimer…**

**Nah! You all know the drill…I don't have enough money to buy myself clothes; I most certainly do not own Fullmetal Alchemist!**

**Anyways…Thanks to those who reviewed! It made me happy enough to write another chapter *wink* *wink* :3**

* * *

_Ba-thump…ba-thump…ba-thump…_

Ed's heart rate refused to control itself. Clutching his chest, Ed backed away from the figures standing in the doorway.

_Ba-thump…ba-thump…_

He needed to get away. It hurt. It hurt so much. Everything became fuzzy, only the image of the healthy boy standing in front of him remained clear.

_Healthy._

His heart sped up a few notches. Healthy…it echoed in his head and bounced off the inside of his skull. Ed should be happy; he should be smiling…except it only hurt more. Why was it hurting more? Unconsciously, Ed gripped his throbbing right shoulder.

_Ba-thump…ba-thump…ba-thump…_

Suddenly his head felt too heavy for his shoulders. Everything ached, his head, his shoulder, his knee, his heart…everything. Why? Why wasn't he grinning his stupid, lopsided grin and rushing to the side of his brother?

_Ba-thump..ba-thump…ba-thump…_

"Alphonse…"

The whisper falling off his tongue felt so sweet. Too sweet for someone like him should be allowed to taste.

_Al…_

What the hell was the matter with him? His brother, his baby brother was standing before him, happy, healthy, _alive._ Why was he standing here like some idiot?

_Just run up to him._

But Ed couldn't. His feet remained firmly planted on the squishy carpet. He told himself that Al was right there, strong and radiant as ever. So why did it pain him so much to see his brother's face? He knew the answer. Someone like him didn't deserve to be near Al. The evidence was directly in front of him. Alphonse didn't need his big brother anymore; he could take care of himself just fine.

_Ba-thump…ba-thump…_

Dammit! It stung…It felt as though someone just ripped a portion of his soul out. Ed felt empty and cold. Al no longer needed him…

_Ba-thump…_

If Alphonse didn't need him…then no one else in the world did. Everyone he loved was gone. He now had no reason for being alive. As dramatic as that was, it was true once Ed really thought about it. What purpose did he serve by staying alive if he wasn't needed by anybody?

Slowly, Ed let his hand drift upwards. Just once, he needed to see for himself if the Alphonse standing in front of him was indeed real. Ever so slowly, his arm made its way towards the waiting boy. Just a few more inches…

_Ba-_

"Hi, my name's Alphonse."

Ed snapped out of his reverie.

_What?_

Al grabbed the out stretched hand and shook it. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and looked around the dorm room. "So, I guess we'll be roommates from now on."

_H-He…doesn't recognize me?_

"U-Um yeah." Ed stuttered out softly.

_How the hell can he not remember his own brother? Or is he playing dumb because of the girl here…_

For the first time, Ed noticed the presence of the other teen and immediately eyed her suspiciously. Was she a friend? A girlfriend?

Riza coughed uncomfortably from being stared at by the boy in Al's room. His gaze was so scrutinizing, she felt like he could read her every thought. She coughed again and made an excuse to leave. "Well…I guess I'll let you guys talk and introduce yourselves. I'll be next door if you need me."

Al nodded and added, "Ok, maybe we can hang out tonight with the rest of the group."

Riza exited the room and sighed in relief once she was in the hallway. The air was way too tense in that room. Whoever the headmaster's kid was, he wasn't someone she thought Al should be hanging around with. Maybe she should advise him to request a room change.

"So," Al started, focusing his attention back on his new roommate. "What's your name?"

_Does he really not remember? The girl is gone…so…he really doesn't?_

"Edward…" He hesitated, watching Alphonse for some kind of reaction. Nothing. Not even a twitch. "Elric."

"That's a pretty last name. Mine's Rockbell."

_What?_

"Is something wrong?" Al asked, worried that he had said something out of line because the look he got from Edward was utter confusion.

"Ah, no…" Ed muttered. "Just sounded kind of familiar, that's all."

Al shifted uncomfortably. The tension had yet to disappear, and a new found awkwardness pushed its way between the two boys. Al had no idea what to say. This wasn't how he imagined meeting his roommate would be like.

"So," Ed offered, trying to fill in the silence. Anything but silence. "Is this your first year here?"

Grateful for the opportunity for conversation, Al shook his head. "No, last year I was emitted under special circumstances."

"Special? Like you were super smart or something?"

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Al tried to hide his blush. "Yeah, I guess so. But I turned fifteen not too long ago and now I'm officially in the school as a first year."

_Oh, so I missed his birthday…again._

Ed had forgotten, this school was a little unique, it didn't matter what year you were in, you were put in your classes with a mixture of ages. "Cool."

The awkward silence was back again. Ed wasn't sure what he should say, what he could say. As far as he knew, Al didn't remember him. Not that he could blame the kid, it's been seven years since they've seen each other, and it's a miracle Al was even moving at all. Ever since that accident…

Ed clenched his fists and walked towards the door, leaving a surprised Alphonse staring at him. He looked back and called, "Sorry, I just remembered I had some urgent business with the headmaster, so…I'll see you around."

The second he was out of his brother's sight, Ed sprinted down the hallway, desperate for some peace and quiet.

* * *

"That was bad." Riza commented as she shut Maes and Roy's door behind her.

"Sure," Roy mumbled. "Come right in."

"What was bad?" Maes asked, ignoring Roy.

Riza grabbed a chair and sat down next to the boys, who were watching TV. "Well, I met up with Al on my way to turn in my test-"

"Oh, so he made it?" Roy interrupted, shoving a hand full of Cheez-its into his mouth.

Riza smacked him before continuing. "Yes. Anyways, after we turned our exams in, I helped him bring his stuff up to his room. As it turns out, his roommate is Van Hohenheim's son."

"Edward Elric?" Maes sounded surprised. "That means Al will be living next to us. What a coincidence."

"No way!" Roy laughed. "I feel so bad for the kid. I think he got stuck with the worst roommate ever."

Riza shook her head. That wasn't why she came in here. "You should have felt the tension in the room. And then the awkwardness. It was hard to breathe, that's how bad it was. And you should have seen the look on Edward's face."

"Look?"

"It was like he'd just seen a ghost. All of a sudden he went really pale, and his eyes got all big. For a second I thought he was having a heart attack."

Roy waved his hand dismissively. "That guy's probably used to having to share. You know, being the son of a world famous scientist and all, his family has got to be loaded."

"Is someone jealous?" Maes teased. "Just because you've had a tough life, that doesn't mean you should go around judging people before you know them."

"Shuddup!" Roy yelled and launched himself at his best friend. He hated it when people talked about his past. Maes and Riza were the only ones who knew.

Before Roy could walk, his mother had dumped him off on the front steps of a bar, too lazy to walk to the orphanage. Although he would never admit it, Roy hated how he couldn't remember his mother. For some reason, he felt had yearned for her ever since childhood. Now, that feeling was almost all the way suppressed, but once in a while, he felt this pang of loneliness in his heart. Roy had no idea why, because the most plausible situation was that his mother had been a prostitute, his father a costumer, and she accidentally got pregnant. Not wanting to keep him, she probably just tossed him in front of the nearest bar.

After they had settled down and Riza struck them with a textbook, Maes sat up. "Do you think we should say something to Al?"

Riza shrugged. "I was wondering the same thing. But it's like Maes said before, you can't judge a book by it's cover."

* * *

Ed gulped in the fresh air like he had been drowning in the middle of the sea. His lungs burned and his jaw ached. As soon as he left the dorm building, Ed full on sprinted in a random direction, not really caring where he ended up. As long as it was away from his little brother.

_It's over._

This little adventure, this whole boarding school thing, it was over. He needed to be as far away as possible from this place. If Al was here, then Ed needed to be on the other side of the country. If he stayed, he'd only cause more trouble for his brother, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He wouldn't mess Al's life up ever again.

Ed stopped by the south end of the school. Nobody was around, so he let his entire body droop against the sturdy building. It was all so exhausting. Boarding school, seeing his father again, and now Al. It was like the universe was trying to make him miserable, gathering everything that tortured him into one space, it drained every last ounce of energy he had. Mumbling incoherent words to himself, Ed ran his hand through his bangs, messing up his pony tail in the process.

What the hell was he thinking, running away like that? He couldn't believe his actions. It's the first time in years that he sees Al, and what does he do? He runs away like some little girl indulging in self-pity. It was stupid of him to think that, even for a second, Al would remember who he was. Of course he wouldn't remember. Not after what happened, not after what Ed did to him. Hell, he was lucky Al could even walk after what he'd been through! Ed hadn't thought about it at the time, but his brother was _walking_. How was he able to, he shouldn't be able to-

"Edward." A deep voice pulled him from his reverie.

Honey golden irises clashed with identical ones, and Ed almost snarled at the man before him. "What the hell do you want?"

Hohenheim stood up straighter and narrowed his gaze at the teen. "That is no way to greet your father, Edwa-"

"Would you shut up?!" Ed yelled, clenching his fists at his side. He hated this man, loathed him. He could do without his shit right now. "You're not my father! Stop going around saying my name like you own me or something, it pisses me off!"

Heaving a deep sigh, Hohenheim tiredly rubbed his temples. He had been expecting this reaction, of course, but that didn't mean it muffled Ed's shouting in anyway. He sighed again. There was no use arguing with the hot headed teenager. "Is something wrong?"

"Why the hell would you care?" Ed snapped.

"I saw you run from the dormitory. Was something not to your liking?"

"Wa-Was something…" Ed couldn't believe this guy! He must have known Al was boarded with him, he had to have known! "Yeah something's wrong you bastard! You knew he was gonna be in my room, didn't you?"

"He?" Hohenheim questioned, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Al! You knew he was going to be here, and yet you made me come to this school too! You even put him in my room!"

Hohenheim frowned at his son's words. "I don't see why you are getting so upset over this. One would think you would be happy seeing your brother again."

"You don't get it!" Ed shouted, slamming his fist into the wall. "Don't you see what you've done?"

"No, Edward, I can't understand unless you are willing to explain it to me."

Ed was getting desperate now. He didn't know why. What was this horrible feeling, digging its way deeper into his stomach?

And that was when he heard it.

"AL!"

**Not gonna lie, this chapter was super fun to write…even though I didn't write it in one go…**

**Either way, anyone else curious as to what happened to our little friend Alphonse? I know I am, because the chapter was supposed to end a different way, but my hands demanded it ended like this. I already have an idea as to what's going to happen, I just don't know how extreme it's going to be.**


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